Soccer <\/p>\n
Records, it\u2019s said, are made to be broken. And as remarkable as his 17-year playing career was, Chris Wondolowski will recognize, deep down, that his reign as MLS\u2019s all-time goal king will likely end sooner or later.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Still, it must be something else entirely to have the leading contender to dethrone him lurking just down the proverbial hallway, in the same organization: the San Jose Earthquakes<\/a>\u2019 strike star of the present, Josef Mart\u00ednez<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Venezuelan makes no secret of his ambitions to do exactly that.<\/p>\n \u201cI always tell him that. Very respectfully, but this is a sport \u2013 we live for this,\u201d Mart\u00ednez told MLSsoccer.com in Spanish with a grin during a wide-ranging conversation this week, as he and his teammates prepare to welcome their Cali Clasico rivals LA Galaxy<\/a> to Stanford Stadium on Saturday evening, always one of the Quakes\u2019 biggest events of the year (10:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+<\/a>).<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve said it many times, even in conversations with Wondo. I always speak with Wondo; he\u2019s a very good person. And we always talk about it. Every striker wants to score goals; anyone who says otherwise is a liar. So as long as I\u2019m healthy, I honestly try to enjoy it. If I can do it, great. If not, I\u2019ll try to do the best job possible, enjoy and be competitive until the end.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n With Mart\u00ednez having just turned 32, already on 124 career regular-season tallies (No. 6 on the all-time list) and bagging goals at a higher rate than anyone else in the league\u2019s top 10, Wondo\u2019s mark of 171 might not be safe for much longer.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, I want to be healthy, enjoy as much as possible from this sport that has given me so much,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I get the opportunity, I welcome it; if not, possibly leave a legacy, and people can remember the competitor that I\u2019ve been. As for the rest, I\u2019m grateful for what I\u2019ve had and what I\u2019ve been given.\u201d<\/p>\n That proud, relentless desire to compete, in all moments and all aspects, is central to Mart\u00ednez\u2019s identity, and it\u2019s a key facet of what he\u2019s brought to the Bay Area side\u2019s dramatic turnaround under Bruce Arena. Fresh off a woeful 2024 in which they finished dead-last in the overall table, the Quakes find themselves fifth in the Western Conference with 26 points (7W-7L-5D) as the season passes its halfway point, Josef having chipped in 8g\/1a in 15 matches thus far.<\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of my arrival, the new way of training, the new locker room, where we go to eat, all those things, it\u2019s been great,\u201d he said. \u201cBeyond that, there has also been a drastic and positive change in the mentality of the players, because last year they didn\u2019t do very well. I\u2019ve had the chance to play against [San Jose] for many seasons now, so I\u2019ve seen the improvement and I\u2019ve seen the evolution they\u2019ve had. And it\u2019s all positive. I think the club needs it. It\u2019s a historic club.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 27, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n It\u2019s not just Wondo who\u2019s in Josef\u2019s crosshairs, to use that term in the friendliest context possible. Mart\u00ednez has struck up an entertaining forward partnership with his fellow newcomer Chicho Arango<\/a>, and as well as they\u2019ve hit it off on a personal level, they\u2019re also paced by a mutual desire to one-up the other and push the collective to higher levels. (Chicho, for the record, is currently a nose ahead with 10g\/3a, in 346 more minutes on the pitch.)<\/p>\n \u201cBrother, if there\u2019s no competition, it\u2019s not a sport. Soccer is healthy competition,\u201d said Josef, that mischievous smile flashing again. \u201cWe both play, we\u2019re both goal scorers, we want to score goals. But myself in this moment \u2013 and himself as well, based on the conversations we\u2019ve had \u2013 I don\u2019t have any feelings of selfishness towards him or any other teammate, because if they\u2019re doing well, I\u2019m also doing well.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s something intriguingly offbeat about the old-school, famously cantankerous Arena \u2013 at 73, he is the league\u2019s oldest head coach by more than a decade \u2013 making a fiery, historically edgy Latin American duo like Mart\u00ednez and Arango cornerstones of his latest project. All three arrived on the Bay with something to prove, though.<\/p>\n Arena left his last job, with the New England Revolution<\/a>, under a cloud due to allegations of insensitive and inappropriate remarks. Despite a best-in-class trophy case featuring five MLS Cups, four Supporters’ Shields, four Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year awards and myriad other achievements, some wondered if he was a spent force.<\/p>\n Similar doubts had swirled about Josef, laid low by a torn ACL in 2020 and only sporadically showing his best levels in the ensuing seasons with Atlanta United<\/a>, Inter Miami<\/a> and CF Montr\u00e9al<\/a> amid a string of smaller nagging injuries. Chicho, for his part, requested a trade from Real Salt Lake<\/a> over the winter, seeking a \u201cfresh start\u201d after an MVP-caliber start to 2024 fizzled down the stretch in murky circumstances.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 6, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n So far, the new-look Quakes and their old-hand manager are having a blast.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a gentleman with a lot of experience. Obviously there\u2019s a lot of respect for a person who\u2019s won so much in this league, has so many titles and has done so many positive things,\u201d said Mart\u00ednez of Arena. \u201cBut with me personally, he\u2019s been a very caring person, very respectful, and there have been lots of conversations on a human level. That\u2019s something I don\u2019t think you see a lot of.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we try to do things as best as possible because when he gets mad, it\u2019s not too good,\u201d he added with a laugh. \u201cBut honestly, we have a very good group, and that\u2019s why things are going well for us at this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Mart\u00ednez was a force of nature in Atlanta and was adored accordingly, notching more than 100 goals over six years across all competitions, highlighted by Best XI, Golden Boot and league MVP honors in the Five Stripes\u2019 memorable march to a 2018 MLS Cup title. His status as a club icon there is assured and limits any attempt at comparisons. But he\u2019s hopeful of making San Jose a happy home in its own right.<\/p>\n \u201cI always put Atlanta aside. It has been, and still is, the place that gave me many beautiful things, many years as well. The love and affection I experienced there, I haven\u2019t even experienced in Venezuela,\u201d Mart\u00ednez said. \u201cAtlanta, it has a special place. For me, it\u2019s number one, and there will never be another like it.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I\u2019m very grateful to San Jose for how they\u2019ve welcomed me at the club \u2013 not just me, but my family; my son, when he has the chance to come here. The most important thing about this club, I\u2019ve seen it myself, is how they treat the players\u2019 families. So I\u2019ll go with that, how much they care and how nice that is. Because not many clubs are able to combine those things.\u201d<\/p>\n If the churn of the past few years put a damper on Mart\u00ednez\u2019s spirits, he\u2019s doing a good job of hiding it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re soccer players. Change happens every day. Today we\u2019re here. Tomorrow, who knows?\u201d he mused when asked about his nomadic career since leaving ATL, punctuating it with another wry chuckle. \u201cBeyond the fact that it\u2019s the most beautiful sport there is, it\u2019s a job. We have to have an open mind and give our best. At the end of the day, you have to pay the bills.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) June 26, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n He can endear himself to the Quakes faithful that much faster with a big performance against the hated Galaxy on Saturday. This fixture usually draws a large, spirited crowd, and San Jose announced on Thursday afternoon that ticket sales have passed the 40,000 mark, which puts a sellout very much in play at the 50,424-capacity college football venue.<\/p>\n \u201cI enjoy every weekend,\u201d said Mart\u00ednez. \u201cI understand the rivalry between both teams. I\u2019ve been involved in this for a long time. But we have to have fun. At the end of the day, it\u2019s our life.<\/p>\n \u201cGod gives us the opportunity to do what we love most, to play soccer. And for me, it\u2019s all the same, regardless of the opponent, beyond the fact that all cities have important rivalries. But for me, every game is difficult and important. So I play every game to win.\u201d<\/p>\n That might be underselling the extent to which Josef has delighted in playing the protagonist in derbies like this one. He smiles again when it\u2019s pointed out how expertly he antagonized ATL’s primary rivals, Orlando City<\/a>, against whom he memorably netted the goal that broke MLS\u2019s single-season scoring record in \u201818.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Orlando are my children,\u201d he deadpanned. \u201cAnd anyone who says I\u2019m lying knows it\u2019s not a lie. They\u2019re my children.\u201d<\/p>\n So, are the Galaxy next on that list?<\/p>\n \u201cYes, let\u2019s hope so!\u201d said Mart\u00ednez with a laugh. \u201cThe important thing is winning. I tell the truth. If they like it, great. If not, I don\u2019t care. I defend my colors.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n ???????? King Josef with the late equalizer for San Jose! ???? pic.twitter.com\/VkQ675Ll9Z<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 31, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Then there\u2019s his international career.<\/p>\nChasing history<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Big names<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
New start<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
New rivalry<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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World Cup dream<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n